Making Wind Chimes Louder - Tips & Tricks

How Does a Wind Chime Work?

Before getting into the details of how to make a wind chime louder, let's dive into how wind chimes work. Here's what you need to know.

Most traditional wind chimes feature a clapper—a small, suspended piece of metal that's surrounded by longer tubes of bamboo, aluminum, or other materials. When a breeze passes through, this clapper makes contact with the pipes, creating that signature wind chime song.

Usually, wind chime designers cut each pipe to a different length, creating both visual variations and more complex, unique chiming. That's because both the length of the cylinders and the materials used affect the song-like reverberations.

Bamboo pipes, for example, lend themselves to softer music. Aluminum metal pipes, on the other hand, are louder.

You may have also guessed that wind speed also plays a role in how wind chimes work. In general, softer breezes yield softer music, whereas gusty conditions certainly amplify a wind chime's volume.

Making Wind Chimes Have Louder Sound

Just by learning about how wind chimes work, you've already uncovered two factors that affect wind chime volume: materials and wind conditions. Now, keep reading to learn more about these two variables and some other ways to make wind chimes louder.

Choosing the Right Materials

As previously mentioned, the materials used to craft your wind chime play a huge role in determining its maximum volume. Think of your wind chime as a tiny, little orchestra: the instruments selected to play really matter.

So if it's volume you're after, skip those wood clappers and bamboo wind chimes! Instead, search for well made wind chimes that feature materials like:

Loudest Wind Chime Materials

• Metal pipes (brass or copper hollow tubes)
• Aluminum sheet metal pipes
• Bike gears
• Silver spoons
• Cooking utensils
• Flowerpots
• Teapots
• Metal tools
• Driftwood
• Metal cans

Wondering why we've featured materials like flowerpots, teapots, and cooking utensils on this list? These "up-cycled" materials are perfect for making DIY Wind Chimes & Mobiles.

Purchasing Suspension Platforms

Looking for yet another way to pump up the volume on your favorite wind chime? You might want to consider buying a sturdier suspension platform.

What Does a Suspension Platform Do?

A suspension platform is exactly what it sounds like: a platform used to suspend a wind chime. These platforms can be wood, plastic, or metal. If you're making your own wind chime or attempting to "hack" a chime you already own, you'll want to ensure you are properly fastening the platform.

You'll want to plan ahead when creating your drill holes for the platform, and you'll want to ensure you evenly mark the platforms center. That's where your striker (or your clapper) will dangle, and if there's a misalignment in the strikers center, you may see a reduction in volume.

Fastening the Suspension Platform

Once it's time to thread the chimes through the suspension lines, you'll need to decide how long you want the chimes to hang. Remember, you can allow pipes to hang unevenly to create different sounds, but you still want to ensure they're hanging correctly.

As you thread through the sail, test out the chime from all different directions. Ensure the striker hits all the pipes during the installation process.

Cutting and Assembling the Chime

If you are crafting your own wind chime, you'll want to think some more about how you cut and assemble your piece. That's because, as you probably expected, there's a relationship between the size and width of your tubes and the pitch of the sounds they make.

Size and Sound

Narrow, short tubes create higher pitched tones. So if it's high-pitched music you seek, choose a wind chime with slender pipes or ensure to choose short, thin tubes for your DIY project. You can use a pipe cutter from any local hardware store to cut all the chimes to the desired length.

Testing the Sound Quality

Whether you buy a prefabricated wind chime or construct your own using salvaged home decor, you'll certainly want to test out your wind chime before installing it. Test our your wind chime in a mild breeze, then expose it to more wind.

If it doesn't sound right, you'll want to contract the manufacturer. And if it's a DIY wind chime, ensure your suspension lines are in good shape and inspect the entire chime.

Other Features to Consider

There are still a few more ways to increase the volume of your wind chimes. From choosing a large wind chime to changing where your chimes hang, there are lots of ways to experiment with wind chime volume.

Larger Wind Chimes Create Loud Sound

As you might have guessed, the larger the wind chime, the louder the sound it creates. So if it's volume you're chasing, choose oversize wind chimes. For an extra boost of volume, ensure those bigger-than-usual chimes are made from metal materials.

Where You Hang Wind Chimes Can Effect Sound

If you aren't happy with the sounds coming from your favorite wind chime, you might want to experiment with moving your wind chime to different locations.

You could hang your wind chime in a corner that receives extra wind, or move around other decor to create gustier conditions for your wind chimes.